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Hi, I'm Cade and this is Bandit: Hi, my name is Cade Benson and I am doing every possible thing I can to pay for the cancer treatment and mass removal surgery needed by my sweet 6-year-old Catahoula dog, Bandit. For those who do not already know him, Bandit has been my best friend since he was just four months old. He’s a very goofy and vocal boy who begs to play fetch 24/7. When sitting on the floor near Bandit he is likely to give you his signature hug with a paw on each shoulder while giving you non-stop good boy kisses. Bandit is a very physically active dog and when he isn't going for a walk he loves to go backpacking in national forests with his big brother Smokey. He has always been strong and healthy until about three months ago when he was diagnosed with soft tissue sarcoma cancer.

Prognosis: Bandit has sarcoma soft tissue cancer. With no medical intervention, Bandit has no chance of survival. With a 5-day radiation treatment estimated at $3500 (already received) and one last mass removal surgery estimated at $3500-$4500 Bandit has fair to good odds to make a full recovery! We believe in full transparency and share all documentation freely. We take a realistic approach when evaluating his chance of survival with and without treatment. We have included a screenshot of the Preliminary Diagnosis, and have listed Google Drive links for both the preliminary diagnosis and the full discharge summary directly below. For a full list of documentation, please scroll to the We brought receipts section

(Shaun is my brother and is listed as an owner at the A&M animal hospital because he has been helping me take care of Bandit and many of his medical expenses. We are both listed on the documentation in the We brought receipts section)

What you can do to help: Read Bandit's story and share it with anyone who will listen. It goes without saying that this is a major financial burden for my brother and me. We have borrowed from family and friends and are on a very tight schedule to secure the funds in time for his mass removal surgery or all the money we have already spent on radiation may go to waste. Every single dollar makes a difference. However, for those who cannot donate we want to provide the tools you need to help save Bandit. Below we have linked a PNG containing a QR code that links directly to the GoFundMe! Please print out as many copies of this PNG as you can and share them with your family and friends:

Help save Bandit QR code (.PNG):

Bandit’s Journey: About three months ago I took Bandit to have a small lump on his back right shoulder/neck area checked out at a local small animal clinic here in Bryan Tx. The lump was diagnosed as an abscess and we were sent home with antibiotics. A few weeks later the antibiotics were having no effect and the small lump had grown to nearly the size of a crab apple (between a golf ball and a baseball). At this point, I suspected the mass to be more than just an abscess. To have the mass removed was very expensive estimated at well over a thousand dollars and I was told that the mass itself was non-life-threatening. Regardless of this, I chose to take Bandit to have the mass removed on 2/16/23. During the surgery, the vet called me and confirmed my suspicions when he told me that the mass was not an abscess as previously thought. About two weeks later, after being sent off to a lab for testing, the mass was identified as soft tissue sarcoma cancer. The vet was confident that he had removed the entire mass and Bandit recovered from the surgery without further complications. Unfortunately, about three weeks ago the cancer reappeared as a smaller lump at the surgery site. Thankfully, Bandit is currently receiving the best care possible through the oncology department at Texas A&M small animal hospital. The staff there are incredible people and together we have set Bandit on a rigorous treatment plan that gives him the best odds possible. Bandit just finished his 5-day of radiation treatment on 5/12/23 like a champ! Now, in 2 to 3 weeks Bandit will have surgery to remove the cancerous mass on his back right shoulder/neck area. The surgery is expected to go smoothly and the chance of reoccurrence is greatly reduced by the radiation treatment that he has received. Additionally, the cancer has not metastasized to any other part of his body meaning, with your help, Bandit is only 2-3 weeks from finally being cancer free! If any individual has questions they may feel to reach out to me or call Texas A&M small animal hospital directly. Luckily, Bandit has already received some funding which has made paying for radiation treatment possible. However, we still need to raise the $3,500-$4,500 for the mass removal surgery and pay back friends and family members who have pitched in to get Bandit to where he is now. We ask that you please visit the What you can do to help section if you have not already.

Why this is so important to us: Unfortunately, my brother and I are no strangers to losing family to cancer. Most recently, we lost our grandfather to cancer and my dog Bandit was there to keep our spirits up with his goofy nature through all of it. Bandit was there for me and now it is my turn to be there for him. I am 20 years old and I work part-time at Chick-Fil-A as well as Zales, the jewelry store. I’ve donated plasma, given rides to friends, and put in extra hours at work. I will also be applying for additional research and charity funding. Bandit is a young and sweet dog full of life who brings joy to my to the lives of everyone he meets, me most of all. If Together we can raise our goal Bandit can receive the life-saving surgery he desperately needs. With your help, Bandit has great odds of living a long and happy dog life!

We brought receipts:

Extra good boy photos: